Comprehensive blood test with 19 biomarkers

Your blood says something about many systems at once. A comprehensive panel brings those systems together in one overview. That reveals patterns a single biomarker would not show.

Many people want to know where their body stands. That applies even when you have no complaints. Shifts in your values are often slow and unnoticed.

For anyone who trains, that matters even more. Your training, your food and your recovery all play a part. You then work with numbers instead of guesswork.

This blood test may suit people who:

• want a wide view of their general health
• train and want to follow recovery at marker level
• are considering a preventive blood test as a yearly check
• feel tired or flat and want a broad starting point
• prefer one panel over several separate tests
• want a baseline to compare against later

Do you have specific complaints? Discuss with a doctor which values are useful for you.

This panel measures nineteen biomarkers, grouped by area:

• Hormones: Total Testosterone and SHBG.
• Thyroid: TSH, Free T3 and Free T4.
• Cholesterol: total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides.
• Liver, kidney: Albumin, Liver function test, Urea, Creatinine and eGFR.
• Metabolism: HbA1c, your longer-term blood sugar.
• Vitamins and iron: Vitamin D, Vitamin B12 and Ferritin.
• Blood count: Small Blood Count, for your red blood cells and platelets.

Most standard blood tests fall into a handful of panels. This one carries four of them. Those are a lipid panel, a thyroid panel, a metabolic panel and a blood count.

That metabolic panel covers your liver, your kidney and your blood sugar. On top of those it adds testosterone and SHBG, plus vitamin D, B12 and ferritin.

This panel carries a Small Blood Count. Do you want a complete blood count with differential? You order that as a separate test.

Your cholesterol values say more together than apart. LDL is often called bad cholesterol, HDL good cholesterol. What counts is the ratio between the two.

Your blood lipids relate to your risk of cardiovascular disease. You never judge that risk on one value alone. Smoking, blood pressure and exercise all play a part.

Your thyroid markers say something about energy and metabolism. An overactive thyroid causes different complaints than a slow one. Your vitamin and iron values may point to a shortage.

A high value says little on its own. It only gains meaning alongside your other values.

This panel costs €346. You pay yourself and need no referral.

If your GP requests the blood work, that works differently. The GP orders the determinations directly. Such testing usually falls under your Dutch insurance excess.

Some people deliberately choose their own route, because they prefer not to wait. Others would rather discuss results with their GP first. Both work, and you can combine them.

Looking for a smaller package? Have a look at our lipid panel.

A phlebotomist draws one tube of blood at a certified location. You choose from 650+ draw locations across the Netherlands. The draw itself usually takes a few minutes.

Show the barcode from your ZorgDomein email and bring valid photo ID. Without a BSN there is no barcode: you then print your referral form through the link in the email and bring it to the draw location. You may be left with a small bruise at the puncture site. It normally fades within a few days.

A blood test like this can be useful at several moments:

• when you want a wide baseline of your blood values
• when you feel tired and want to look at several systems
• when you want to follow the effect of training or food
• when you want to track your values once a year

Want to go deeper? Our Whoop panel measures forty-three markers.

Each value is compared against a reference range. A value outside that range does not automatically mean something is wrong.

With a wide panel a doctor looks at how the values relate. Always discuss abnormal values with your GP. That way you know what the result means for you.

Your results appear in your account, usually within a few working days. Per value you see whether it falls inside the reference range. You can then share your results with your own GP.

Every blood test result carries an assessment by a BIG-registered doctor. Discuss your results with your GP before any treatment decisions.